Sora Video Generation
Generate videos using OpenAI's Sora API.
API Reference
Endpoint:
POST https://api.openai.com/v1/videos
Parameters
| Parameter | Values | Description |
|---|
prompt
| string | Text description of the video (required) |
input_reference
| file | Optional image that guides generation |
model
| sora-2
, sora-2-pro
| Model to use (default: sora-2) |
seconds
| 4
, 8
, 12
| Video duration (default: 4) |
size
| 720x1280
, 1280x720
, 1024x1792
, 1792x1024
| Output resolution |
Important Notes
- Image dimensions must match video size exactly - the script auto-resizes
- Video generation takes 1-3 minutes typically
- Videos expire after ~1 hour - download immediately
Usage
# Basic text-to-video
uv run ~/.clawdbot/skills/sora/scripts/generate_video.py \
--prompt "A cat playing piano" \
--filename "output.mp4"
Image-to-video (auto-resizes image)
uv run ~/.clawdbot/skills/sora/scripts/generate_video.py
--prompt "Slow dolly shot, steam rising, warm lighting"
--filename "output.mp4"
--input-image "reference.png"
--seconds 8
--size 720x1280
With specific model
uv run ~/.clawdbot/skills/sora/scripts/generate_video.py
--prompt "Cinematic scene"
--filename "output.mp4"
--model sora-2-pro
--seconds 12
Script Parameters
| Flag | Description | Default |
|---|
--prompt
, -p
| Video description (required) | - |
--filename
, -f
| Output file path (required) | - |
--input-image
, -i
| Reference image path | None |
--seconds
, -s
| Duration: 4, 8, or 12 | 8 |
--size
, -sz
| Resolution | 720x1280 |
--model
, -m
| sora-2 or sora-2-pro | sora-2 |
--api-key
, -k
| OpenAI API key | env var |
--poll-interval
| Check status every N seconds | 10 |
API Key
Set
OPENAI_API_KEY
environment variable or pass
--api-key
.
Prompt Engineering for Video
Good prompts include:
- Camera movement: dolly, pan, zoom, tracking shot
- Motion description: swirling, rising, falling, shifting
- Lighting: golden hour, candlelight, dramatic rim lighting
- Atmosphere: steam, particles, bokeh, haze
- Mood/style: cinematic, commercial, lifestyle, editorial
Example prompts:
Food commercial:
Slow dolly shot of gourmet dish, soft morning sunlight streaming through window,
subtle steam rising, warm cozy atmosphere, premium food commercial aesthetic
Lifestyle:
Golden hour light slowly shifting across mountains, gentle breeze rustling leaves,
serene morning atmosphere, premium lifestyle commercial
Product shot:
Cinematic close-up, dramatic lighting with warm highlights,
slow reveal, luxury commercial style
Workflow: Image → Video
- Generate image with Nano Banana Pro (or use existing)
- Pass image as
--input-image
to Sora
- Write prompt describing desired motion/atmosphere
- Script auto-resizes image to match video dimensions
Output
- Videos saved as MP4
- Typical file size: 1.5-3MB for 8 seconds
- Resolution matches
--size
parameter
